Electric lamp shade



Nov. 17, 1953 E. P. MELIA ELECTRIC LAMP SHADE Filed June 29, 1950 u wvmwwd@ A ,A ggg/@WNS y() kgtg N VENTOR ATTORNEYS patented ov. l?,

ELECTRIC Laln#l sHnE g "ri'lliieatiea 'Jelle 29, 1950, serial Nei 171353 larn'p underl circl'l'lri's'tances 'such' that "protection j flying; object', andlfalsonlustffbe protected against quirements, shadesvfor street lights'f r ilally """adof fr'sted orther' translucent "glass ither 'vofj thegjjgla'ss'shades themselves gis an :important tem" because each? v'sli'ade' 'nu'st beY individually ""'ln'ol'ded at` the" -actory to`v the proper 'size 'and "'zsha'pe," and eveuthough the fragile shades are ;.ipackedifor shipmentand handledcarefully, some @breakagewisf unavoidable ,and the loss due to- -breakage is apt to became.excessive.w

It is an lobject of the invention to provide a icombined protector and light diffuser which is practically vnonbreakable..

Another Objectis ,to provide av protector and,

Lduitser which' is `Vflexible and, capable of 'yieldingn when struck byI arsrriall missile', such as `rrlenfvce'of' the typ "characterized in the;r preceding 4ec'tssvvhich can hefnladel either transparent' or trans'lucentfwhich is `capable o f'g'nrovidingfdifffused" illumination, A and which can have 'any nation. ,l i

Y, A furtherobjetis to `provide sucl'a device'ln 'ferm eepeaeef'eing packed, stefeq and trans- -Lpo'rted innilatwcondition feitlfier fongrifgina'in- Hite 'or' coloredjasnay be' desired, and "such 'the abovatypef-Which can; be rri'anufactured'lby '"q'uantity production methods, at relatvelyJQW cost; 'and which lif" desired can heY manufactured and shipped in large sizes and `eut and shapedon the job forpu'rpo'ses of installation.

with the' above obleets in view; thegpreseliln- 'vention vcomprises an external rigidpguardtrllcture 'of any' Asuitable .material and construction, 10l

and'an"intenalsllexible liner which' provides 'addedp'rotection for the electricdampnandat "thes'ame' time serves tocontrol theharter 'of the illumination.. ,The guard should be strong i' enough lto withstand the impactV of heavy milsl away'the installation, but sh'ould alsa compri-Se 'Siles' or' either forces that mightdestroy or `carry an 'openvvork structurethat doesnot j hinder seriously.thetransrnission 'of light, The guard structure ispreferablybi 4metal and; may-Suitablyicomprise 'metal-rodsor heavy Wires or strips fabricated or assembled inanysuitable Wayto form a cage or meshwork'around thalarnp,... The

` metalwork kcan I be finished,` in. any desired manner asfbynickelaplating, galvanizing or pain t 25 ing, or can be'inade ofjchrome or stainless steel or other Weatherproof lnetals.V Preferablyejme guard structure serves also asthelframef the combinedpro'tector and 'diffusenj butmif desired "the guard structurecan be formed separately and. attached tov any ,suitable frame. A

Inside "the guard structure V,is a liner comprising a/substantially continuous `sheetof `exible light-tran'srrlittingv Lmaterial Y, having the -plural functions'of proteetingthe lampagainst Weather, furnishing added; protection against Small missiles,` penetrating, the, guard structure, andjof l contrcllingl 'the character of. the, illumination colored .to provideeappronliately coloredillumifromy the, lampe, .ForeXample, the ,liner4 maybe transparent if desired, but usually Will belemore or less translucent so as to dffusethellumination and; provide, azubsta'ntially sun'iform Soft glow. The v.material of;` theflner. may :alsa .be

nation. For example, a red lightis de`sirable to "indicate thejlocation]ofrwarning signals, ,and a yellow light is often preferred for street lightdoes not attract various typesfofinse'cts. The

i'e'ontin'uityof th 1iner'""retects'"the "lamp against wind; rain," snw'iand llkefweather rbrces 'The llexibillty off the liner permits it to" yleidiand 'tofatsprb "the'fimlacr effisall'frn'isslles"withiit breakage, this? aetien'fbeing"facilitated" by leetwardly away from the guard to any extent required to distribute the impact over a relatively large area and thus to absorb it without breakage.

Any of various well known plastics can be used in making the liner, the particular type of plas-- tic to be employed being a matter of choice depending on the conditions to be satisfied in each case. It is advantageous to coat the plastic onto a support of wire screen or the like, thus obtaining strength and resiliency as wellv as flexibility with a. thin coating of plastic. For example, good results have been obtained with a plastic coated screen known as Cel-O-Glass which comprises 1li-mesh galvanized wire screen coated on both sides with plastic of the cellulose acetate accaso As shown, the base 2 is flared outwardly and is provided at the top with a horizontal annular ange 3 having marginal external and internal rings 4 and 5 respectively between which the bottom edge of the protector device is inserted and supported. Set screws 6 or equivalent means serve to secure the protector in position.

The guard structure serves not only to prevent heavy missiles from striking the liner but also IservesasI theframeworkof the protector device itself. In the form shown, the guard comprises an open mesh metal framework 'I having dia- `=mondshaped meshes made according to a known ,f procedure by slitting a metal sheet longitudinally type. Such a liner, when loose fromvthe-vsurrounding guard, can bend or flex inwardly tc absorb repeated impacts and will continue to spring l back to its original shape. The continuous plasfticf coating' keeps out the weather, and-by virtue of its' light-diffusing effect, which appears to be lassisted by reflection `from the screen wires,-the emitted illumination is a uniform soft diffused iglowffree from glare.

Flexibility-of vthe liner is also important from 'the'f standpoint of installation. Liner sheets of -the above type can be made of any desired size `l"and 'canbe stored, transported andhandled in inflat condition. For either original installation or;`

'-Yreplacement, .the sheets vcan be manufactured originally in the proper size or cut to size and shapelwhenever desired, as for example at the point of-installation. The sheets are then bent finto proper: shape corresponding to that of the. i? guard, and inserted into the guard' where :they lftend to'ex-pand or straighten out and thus hold themselves in' position by frictional engagement Vwiththe guard, being free to flex inwardly upon j#impact oflfa missileas described above. In'the v'case of a cylindrical. guard, for example,.a liner 'sheet of the proper dimensions is simply rolled into tubular form and inserted'into the guard. jlI-Iowever, thefedges of the tube can be secured i*together/in any: suitable way, if desired, as by `overlapping vthem and stapling or otherwise securing themrtogether.

One embodiment `of the invention has vbeen' il- "flustrated inthe"v accompanying drawings which show a protector-anddiffuser mounted on topof a-lamp post-'for street lighting orthe like. :How- Seven iti isto'fbe 'expressly understood that de- -vices embodying 'the'` invention vcan be :used for hanging lamps or lamps of any other'` desired type, andfthatthe drawings arefor purposes :of 'hillustrationonlyr and are not'to be taken Aas a 'denitionof the limits of the invention, reference :being had-to theappended claims for this purpose.

i In the drawings,

- Fig. 1 is a side view of a street'lamp equipped with a devicerembodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional'view onthe line '-2-f-2`of Fig. 1;

A*Figa 3=is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; `and Fig. 4 is a`v sectional view showing the construction of the liner.

Referring to thefdrawings, I is a lamp post of any suitable type on top of which is mounted a suitable base 2 for supporting the lamp itself and the protector anddiffuser. It will be understood that -these elements as shown in the drawings are conventional and .that their particular constructionv is not apart of the present invention.;

65..for purposes of :illustration only and that the to form the dia- At its lower end,

and spreading the slit portions by welding to a base ring 8 seated on the iiange preferably of `molded plastic.

-31b`etween the rings 4 and 5 of the base 2 and secured in place by means of the set screws 6. At its upper end, the meshwork is secured to a sim- Vilar ring 9 whichv fits within the flanged lower edge-of a suitable canopy-type cap or crown I0 The cap I0 may have` any desired configuration for ornamental effect, and may be V.secured in place in any suitable manner as by means of an ornamentalnut VII screwed `ontothe-upper end of a rod I2 which -f extends through'a hole in the top of the cap vvIIJ and is secured at its lower, end to a strap I3 ex- .,tending diametrically across the ring 9. The c ap Ill and nut `I I thus cover the top of the protector -Ldevice and prevent-.the .entry therein of rain or snow. It will beunderstood, however, that. any

other desired type of cover may be employed,

andV that inthe case. of a hanging lamp, the

. lower end of the protector device may be-left Y open ifdesired.` Y

v Within the guard 1 is a flexible resilient liner I4 preferably made` of the type shown in detail i in Fig. 4. Thelintersecting wires loi? an ordinary wirescreen are indicated at I5 and I6, and-this ,screen -is coatedon both sides with plastic material I1,the twocoatings of plastic'merging so thatthe screen wire is in eiect imbedded inthe plastic. :The result is ,a sheet of substantial strength,` flexibility and resiliency which is rolled into tubular form and inserted within the cylinf. drical guard 'I -as described above. The liner is not attached to the guard, being supported at its lowerend by the;lamp post base 2 yso that it is secured against kmovement relative tothe guard in an axial direction, but isfree to bend or flex ..inwardly awayfrom theguard to absorb impacts as. described aboveand then to. return to its cylindrical formation.

`Anelectrielamp IS of any desired type can be 'Y mountedwithin the vprotector and diluser device secured to thelamp post base 2.

in any desired manner. AsVv shown, the lamp socket I9` is supported by arms v2li on brackets 2| While only oneembodimentvof the invention has been illustrated and described, itis to be expressly,...understoody that this embodiment is A4invention is not-,restricted thereto, as Various changescan be made in the form, details of con- :andlinen `and they maybe used inl connection with various other types of lamps and in various othen-shapesandsizes, all without departing fromithe 4spirit ofthe invention. Reference is -therefore/tobe had'to thezappended claims for a definition of the Ylimitsofthe invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combined protector and light diiuser for an electric lamp, the combination of an outer protective guard formed of rigid metal elements arranged in the form of a network around the lamp to withstand the impact of relatively large missiles and having relatively large meshes for the emission of light from the lamp, and a flexible, resilient liner of metal wire screen having relatively small meshes and a continuous coating of exible, light-transmitting material, said liner having the saine shape as said guard and tting closely within said guard but detached therefrom and capable of flexing inwardly away from said guard to absorb the impact of relatively small missiles penetrating said network.

2. In a combined protector and light diffuser for an electric lamp, a guard around said lamp formed of rigid metal rods interconnected in an approximately diamond-shaped network, said guard withstanding the impact of large missiles and having relatively large meshes for the emission of light from the lamp, in combination with a flexible liner sheet tting closely against said guard and closing the network openings to pre- Vent penetration of the network by small missiles, said sheet being yieldable inwardly away from said guard to absorb the impact of such small missiles and comprising metal wire screen having relatively small meshes and a continuous coating of iiexible light-transmitting material which controls the character of the illumination. 3. A device as defined in claim 2, said network being substantially cylindrical and said liner comprising a sheet rolled into cylindrical form and inserted within said cylindrical network.

e. A protective housing for an electric lamp comprising top and bottom members one of which has provision for mounting an electric lamp thereon, a frame interconnecting said members and supporting one member on the other, said frame comprising a rigid metal network extending between said members and surrounding said lamp to protect it against the impact of relatively large missiles and having relatively large meshes for the emission of light from said lamp, and a flexible liner of metal wire screen having relatively small meshes and a continuous coating of light-transmitting material, said liner fitting closely within said network frame to close the openings therein and prevent penetration o small missiles and being yieldable inwardly to absorb the impact of such small missiles.

EARL PAUL MELA.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 715,254 Garretson Dec. 9, 1902 1,080,990 Meyercord Dec. 9, 1913 1,662,136 Stevens Mar. 13, 1928 2,014,872 Well et a1 Sept. 17, 1935 2,049,251 Deitsch July 28, 1936 2,217,562 Muller Oct. 8, 1940 

